Ebay Madness?

My ebay thingy arrived today, bang on time. Very well packed. Not new, but in perfect working condition with all the bits there. I've been thinking about this. I could have bought a new one from a company somewhere for a bit less money. My order would have been very small beer as far as they were concerned, and so if they make a mistake, send the wrong thing, or it arrives broken, I would have a "fun time" taking on their complaints/returns division and all that entails.

But this thing was a very important transaction as far as my seller is concerned. I know them directly, and if anything is wrong I will have someone to talk to who has a real stake in the sale. If it all goes pear shaped they have something considerable to lose, in the form of their hithertoo spotless rating. I got to wonder if this was actually a better way to make sure of customer satisfaction from the buyers point of view? Or am I just rationalising my stupid bidding habits?

- either way, at least I got another point for a good transation - 31 points now!